Cheryl Card

I am a psychologist licensed in New York & Connecticut states. Since the 1970’s I have delighted in the ongoing study of psychology and I have had the privilege of working for more than 30 years in private psychotherapy practice. My doctorate is in clinical psychology and I have a background in psychotherapy process and outcome research. I have extensively studied and practiced many models of psychotherapy. My interests focus on interpersonal relationships, community building, writing for growth and healing, meditation, mindful-living, and, closest to my heart, psychotherapy and other approaches to the reduction of suffering. Services Currently I offer individual psychotherapy, personal coaching, and group mindfulness and expressive writing classes. Individual Psychotherapy I offer both in person and virtual one-on-one psychotherapy. While my approach is primarily psychodynamic (form of talk therapy based on psychoanalytic theories where the focus is often on the effects of past experiences and unconscious processes on thoughts, feelings, and behaviors) with an interpersonal orientation (highlights role of all our relationships for our mental health), I have extensive training in many other models of therapy. These include cognitive behavior therapy (emphasis is on thoughts, behavior, habits and coping styles), schema therapy (focuses on deep underlying themes in our relationships including the core needs for reliable, safe relationships, autonomy, competence, sense of identify and freedom of expression), interpersonal neurobiology (multidisciplinary approach based on the recognition that the human brain is deeply shaped by social connection and experiences) and mindfulness-based practices (incorporates the development of an open, accepting, non judging awareness of moment-to -moment experience in the service of issues in therapy). Many other models influence my practice, including existential/humanistic models (more here-and-now oriented with an emphasis on acceptance, growth, freedom and responsibility), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (oriented towards pursuing valued life directions and psychological flexibility rather than trying to avoid inevitable negative experiences, like fear, pain, illness, and anxiety), dialectical behavior therapy (has many components but often focuses on improving capacities and skills for tolerating strong emotions, acknowledging the role of past experience and biology in many vulnerabilities and targets the motivation for change), and various approaches to trauma work. While I appreciate and make use of many perspectives in my work, I am guided by a primary goal, and that is to create a therapeutic alliance, a factor that is most consistently predictive of a successful therapeutic outcome. I focus on three aspects of a therapeutic alliance. First, and most importantly, I aim to co-create with the people I work with a safe space of mutual respect within which to explore experience. From this inner experience of safety, an attitude of openness, acceptance, kindness, courage and curiosity is more likely to flourish. This kind of open curious, kind attention is an ideal state for exploration and problem-solving to take place. The second and third aspects of the alliance are agreeing on goals and the methods for achieving these goals, so we will collaborate here as well. These will have ongoing attention in our work, as the alliance is not a once and done achievement, but with this as our base we will have set our selves up for success in our work. Having a good therapeutic alliance does not necessarily mean that all of our time together will feel good. We will, as needed, approach difficult material. There may be challenging moments in our relationship. At the same time, we will be monitoring our experience in an effort to keep you within a zone of tolerance, not going any further or deeper than you feel prepared to go in any given moment, while always working to expand the edges. Returning again and again to establishing a sense of safety so that we can continue to work towards our agreed upon goals. The sense of safety and an open, kind, curious attention will equip us well to approach topics often clouded by our past experiences, unconscious defenses, and other non-conscious factors. These include automatic bodily responses and brain states, motivations, emotions and pattern of being developed early in life. Once these are considered, we begin to have a clearer and more objective sense of our experience. We will be able to clarify relevant thoughts and feelings, validate and better understand our selves. From this place of understanding one can more easily problem-solve, make plans and in other ways navigate our lives in concert with our values. Group writing and mindfulness classes: Writing Your Self, Writing Your Brain This twelve week course utilizes expressive writing and mindfulness practices to enhance our awareness of our moment-to-moment inner experiences for personal growth. While Writing Your Self, Writing Your Brain is a course developed for personal growth rather than for therapy per se, the attitudes and points of view that characterize a therapeutic alliance inform the choice of practices and structure of the classes. This offers students a powerful set of skills by which to get the most out of their writing and mindfulness practices. The process of our writing in many ways will be more importantly than the topics per se. The goal will be on cultivating open, curious, accepting, kind and courageous to a wide range of our experiences from bodily and emotional states, to interactions with others and bringing our inner wisdom forward. Talk it Out Coaching If the target issue is viewed as specific goal or problem in living and not a mental health issue, to be jointly determined, we may find a coaching model offers more flexibility and less need for oversight. These sessions tend to focus on talking through specific issue with a focus on clarifying the problem, setting goals, making plans and seeing them through. There may be specific coping skills training, communication practices, and adherence monitoring. Using what we know about the therapeutic alliance, discussed earlier, also provides a map for how to approach personal experience for greater success at solving problems and achieving goals. I offer both Walk and Talk sessions, especially good for people who want move movement in their lives or just think better while walking, done together in physical space or on the phone, and Talk It Out sessions that is what it sounds like, an opportunity to talk out a problem to get greater clarity with someone who is more neutral to the issue at hand and can offer a warm, accepting ear and occasional guidance. The coaching practice is meant for more discrete and specific needs for personal clarification of values, goals and priorities, validation, and a safe, more neutral space to talk through an issue.